Reuters Science News Summary

October 11, 2012|Reuters

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

SpaceX cargo ship reaches International Space Station

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Astronauts plucked acommercial cargo ship from orbit on Wednesday and attached itto the International Space Station, marking the reopening of aU.S. supply line to the orbital outpost following the spaceshuttles' retirement last year. After a 2-1/2 day trip, SpaceExploration Technologies' Dragon cargo ship positioned itself33 feet away from the $100 billion research complex, a projectof 15 countries, which has been dependent on Russian, Europeanand Japanese freighters for supplies.

Citing privacy concerns, U.S. panel urges end to secret DNAtesting

NEW YORK (Reuters) - They're called discreet DNA samples,and the Elk Grove, California, genetic-testing company easyDNAsays it can handle many kinds, from toothpicks to tampons.Blood stains from bandages and tampons? Ship them in a paperenvelope for paternity, ancestry or health testing. EasyDNAalso welcomes cigarette butts (two to four), dental floss ("donot touch the floss with your fingers"), razor clippings, gum,toothpicks, licked stamps and used tissues if the more standardcheek swab or tube of saliva isn't obtainable.

Work just beginning as drugmakers put Nobel discoveries totest

CHICAGO/LONDON (Reuters) - For some scientists, winning aNobel Prize marks the end of a long and successful career. Butthe work, in a sense, is just beginning for newly minted Nobellaureates in chemistry Dr. Brian Kobilka, 57, of StanfordUniversity in California, and his mentor, Dr. Robert Lefkowitz,69, of Duke University Medical Center in Durham, NorthCarolina.

China sets sights on collecting samples from Mars

BEIJING (Reuters) - China, which has yet to put a person onthe moon, aims to land probes on more distant Mars to collectsamples by 2030, the chief scientist of its lunar orbiterproject said in remarks reported on Wednesday. China's ambitionto reach Mars is a reflection of its growing economic might,allowing it to develop its space exploration capability.

Cell receptor research wins Americans chemistry Nobel

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Two American scientists won the 2012Nobel Prize for chemistry on Wednesday for research into howcells respond to external stimuli that is helping to developbetter drugs to fight diseases such as diabetes, cancer anddepression. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said the 8million crown ($1.2 million) prize went to Robert Lefkowitz,69, and Brian Kobilka, 57, for discovering the inner workingsof G-protein-coupled receptors, which allow cells to respond tochemical messages such as adrenaline rushes.

Nobel for quantum "parlor trick" that could make supercomputers

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - A French and an American scientistwon the Nobel Prize in physics on Tuesday for finding ways tomeasure quantum particles without destroying them, which couldmake it possible to build a new kind of computer far morepowerful than any seen before. Serge Haroche of France andAmerican David Wineland, both 68, found ways to manipulate thevery smallest particles of matter and light to observe strangebehavior that previously could only be imagined in equationsand thought experiments.

NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. physicist David Winelandand France's Serge Haroche share the 2012 Nobel Prize inphysics for doing what Wineland once described as a scientificparlour trick. What they did was apply one of the mostsuccessful theories in physics - quantum mechanics, which for acentury has governed the micro-world where even an atom loomslarge - to objects in the lab.

Nobel laureate Yamanaka warns of rogue "stemcell therapies"

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Nobel laureate Shinya Yamanaka warnedpatients on Tuesday about unproven "stem cell therapies"offered at clinics and hospitals in a growing number ofcountries, saying they were highly risky. The Internet is fullof advertisements touting stem cell cures for just about anydisease -- from diabetes, multiple sclerosis, arthritis, eyeproblems, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's to spinal cord injuries-- in countries such as China, Mexico, India, Turkey andRussia.

Stonehenge scan shows importance of the solstice

LONDON (Reuters) - A cutting-edge laser scan of Stonehengehas shown how Britain's enigmatic neolithic monument was builtto enhance the dramatic passage of sunlight through the circleof stones at midsummer and midwinter. The slabs were intendedto appear at their best in the dawn light on the longest day ofthe year and at sunset on the shortest, the scan for EnglishHeritage found.